1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet supply apparatus for taking sheets such as films, one by one, from a storage cassette, correcting the position of the sheet, and supplying the sheet to another mechanism.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Sheet films such as X-ray films for use in medical organizations, e.g., hospitals, are used to take pictures while they are being stored in cassettes. After a desired picture is photographed on a sheet film in a cassette, it is removed from the cassette, ID information such as a date, patient information, etc., is recorded on the sheet film, and then the sheet film is supplied to a developing device.
There is employed a sheet supply apparatus for feeding the sheet film from the cassette, recording the ID information on the removed sheet film, and then supplying the sheet film to the developing device. In the sheet supply apparatus, it is necessary to supply the sheet film accurately to a recording unit in order to record the ID information accurately in a predetermined position on the sheet film. The sheet film in the cassette may not necessarily be held in a constant position, and may be positionally displaced when it is taken out of the cassette.
In a certain sheet supply apparatus, a sheet film taken out of its cassette is positioned as follows: The sheet film taken out of the cassette is first fed upwardly so as to be held in an upright posture, corrected, by gravity, out of any tilted condition with respect to the direction in which it is fed, and then displaced horizontally, so that the position of the sheet film is corrected with a direction perpendicular to the direction in which it is fed.
The sheet supply apparatus of the above mechanism is however relatively large in the vertical direction as the sheet film is held in the upright posture. When the sheet film is corrected from a tilted condition with respect to the direction in which it is fed, the sheet film is required to be released from rollers. However, upon release from the rollers, the sheet film tends to be curved and may not well and smoothly be fed after the positioning of the sheet film is completed. Furthermore, when the sheet film is positionally corrected with respect to the direction perpendicular to the direction in which it is fed, the sheet film is liable to rub its recording surface against a guide plate or the like, resulting in damage of the recording surface.